7.2 Identifying costs and benefits
Economic sustainability decisions should be based on a co mprehensive evaluation of resources affected and project costs and benefits,so me of which will be difficult to quantif y in precise ter ms.As far as possible the f ollowing elements should be taken into account:
Costs
1.Construction,operations and maintenance costs should be f ully detailed,recognising the split bet ween foreign and local currency,financing options and the anticipated exposure that these might give in ter ms of exchange rate variation.
2.Land acquisition costs should be evaluated in ter ms of actual economic value of land,as opposed to ar bitrar y val uations based on little substance.
3.The f ull capital and recurrent costs of environ mental and social mitigation plans shoul d be incl uded.
4.Allowance should be made f or the replacement of the main items of equip ment after a defined period,and f or t he rehabilitation of civil wor ks where this beco mes necessary.(https://www.daowen.com)
Benefits
1.Allowance should be made of the accr ued benefits at a national or regional level,incl uding any additional taxes,industrial devel op ment and i mpr oved infrastr ucture or multiple use benefits that could be attributed to the project.
2.Recognition of savings on greenhouse gas emissions,and i mpr oved local air quality,to the extent that this can be quantified.
3.Where f easible,allo wance shoul d be made f or benefits t hat accr ue to l ocal communities including job creation,local industry,recreation,training,i mproved healt h care and sanitation,or envir on mental benefits.
4.Full quantification of the energy and power benefits(generally measured in ter ms of the displaced alter native)and ancillary benefits such as spinning reser ve,syste m regulation and i mproved ther mal efficiency.
5.Multi-pur pose/multiple use benefits to downstrea m users and ot her riparian interests,including irrigation,water supply,flood mitigation,water-based transport,and t he i mproved regulation of ot her hydr opower stations downstrea m.